US scientists test on-off memory switch in rats

US scientists said Friday they have developed an on-off memory switch that helped laboratory rats remember a behavior that they had forgotten.

The brain prosthesis marks the first time that researchers have been able to duplicate the brain’s learning process, restoring memories that test rats were drugged to forget, and could offer hope for people with dementia.

“Flip the switch on, and the rats remember. Flip it off, and the rats forget,” said Theodore Berger of the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.